What Jobs Are We Doing in the Garden Today... MK3.. 2013

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Marley Farley, Dec 12, 2012.

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  1. "M"

    "M" Total Gardener

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    Not a lot!
    I let the chooks out for a bit of a snail/slug fest free range.
    Scared the living daylights out of the ducks when I went into the copse ( :scratch: can only put it down to the fact I was wearing a headscarf :dunno: not even Hilda Ogden style! ) and it took me an age to flush them out to put them to bed :wallbanging:
    I did get a new (and larger :heehee: ) "Blow Away" from the delivery man today, so I'm wondering where to site it: same place as old one, or maybe a new location? Ah, decision, decisions!
    The old one (with the broken zip and a couple of rips lovingly repaired with duct tape) will be relocated as a "wind break only" devise for overwintering the more delicate plants. If that fails, I'll simply relocate the shelving to my shed. Worth a try though for winter purposes.
     
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    • liliana

      liliana Total Gardener

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      Not a lot going on today, rain slashing down, just going to do some tidying in the garage,
      and take some fuchsia cuttings, and sort out some seeds that have dried out.:doggieshmooze:
       
    • liliana

      liliana Total Gardener

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      Hi Mowgley, could I ask for some seeds? Thanks
       
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      • Kristen

        Kristen Under gardener

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        Started digging a trench to plant a "skirting board" or Berberis atropurpurea around my Yew hedge. Berberis was purchased as cell-grown plants in the Spring [@ 45p each], potted on and have grown nicely during the Summer and are now ready for planting out :)
         
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        • Essexsteve

          Essexsteve Apprentice Gardener

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          I managed to pull up my 2 chilli plants , I am going to attempt to "over winter" them...they now have pride of place on my window sill....wife wont be happy :snork:
          [​IMG]
           
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          • mowgley

            mowgley Total Gardener

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            Not a problem sent you a PM
             
          • shiney

            shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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            @Scrungee our forecast is good for the weekend, 19C :blue thumb: but quite windy.

            Back in the days when I used to cover the plants, I used clothes pegs to clip the material to the canes :)
             
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            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

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              I do that when the plants are small or on bean structures, but there was far too much growth and it was too dark/late in the season to worry about the odd sheet coming loose as there'd still be plenty of plants left. A different matter when it's small plants in late May where if I were to lose them it the whole year's cropping lost.
               
            • Lea

              Lea Super Gardener

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              Picking up fallen leaves and twigs. One of the fences has come down overnight so I will have to see about getting that sorted out.
              Nice and sunny here today so I might get a decent amount of tidying done out there. :)
               
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              • Ellen

                Ellen Total Gardener

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                Putting some chicken wire along the bottom of the farm gate that serves as the gate to our driveway, to stop curious little pups from going onto the road! Ironically, when we moved in a year ago, we took it all off as a) we didn't need it (lack of forward planning there...) and b) it was a bit torn anyway
                 
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                • Gay Gardener

                  Gay Gardener Total Gardener

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                  Lot of lifting and moving today to reorganise one of the main borders moving ceratostigma willmottianum and a phormium further back that got much bigger than expected (both at around 5ft tall this year), and planted a large sarcococca confusa I recently bought which I'm hoping will give a bit of low level structure towards the front one of the borders.

                  I've also got a couple of chilli plants outdoors, Jalapeno which are still full of chillies, is Essexsteve's method as above the accepted way to bring them in for the winter (I have an unheated garden room) ?? Or can I pot them up with foliage intact?

                  Cheers
                  GG
                   
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    @Gay Gardener it depends on what you want to do with them and what temperature your unheated garden room drops to.

                    Bringing them in so that the chillies that are still on the plants is not a problem. If you want to overwinter them then the temperature is important. If it drops much below 50F then overwintering can be a problem. Below that they go dormant and if it regularly gets below 40F it can stunt them (or kill them) and not make it worth the bother.

                    If the temp doesn't drop below 50 - 60F then it's worth it. First you should repot them and check them for bugs and damage. Leave them where they have been growing for a few days whilst they get used to their new potting and then bring them in. You can leave the chillies on the plant to ripen further and when you have finally picked all of them you can prune them.

                    If the temperature is going to hover around the 50 mark you can prune them back fairly hard - but I wouldn't prune them quite as much as Steve has done. I would prune back by about two thirds to three quarters.

                    If the temperature is going to hover around the 60+ mark and there is good lighting I would only prune back by a third. At that temperature the plants are likely to lose their leaves gradually but will produce new ones and will be fit and ready for putting into a greenhouse by the end of May.

                    If the temperature stays nearer 70F and there is sufficient light they may continue to produce new flowers and fruit through to December. During December, Jan and Feb they will want to go dormant because of lack of daylight hours and you should encourage this by stopping feeding and reducing watering. By late March start increasing the watering and from late April add just a little bit of feed.

                    It would be better to put a layer of gravel on the surface of the pot to help deter fungus gnats and don't let the top of the soil get too wet. Let it dry out between waterings.
                     
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                    • Lolimac

                      Lolimac Guest

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                      Got lots done yesterday....potted on umpteen strawberry plants,cleared veg patch and collected leaves.....:autlvs:
                      More of the same today....must empty my hanging baskets and pot on some seedlings too:dbgrtmb:
                       
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                      • Gay Gardener

                        Gay Gardener Total Gardener

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                        Shiney, that is very useful, thanks for going to so much effort to give that information. Think I have an idea what I will be doing with them now, though if they snuff it I will not be heartbroken - they are Jalapeno chillies and really rather boring as chillies but make fantastic Pimentos de Padron.

                        Thanks again
                        GG
                         
                      • shiney

                        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                        You're very welcome :blue thumb: That's what we're here for :)

                        I tend to overwinter my best plants but I only grow very hot chillies. I'm always still picking a lot well into November.

                        They have to go through the taste test to qualify :heehee:. I've kept some plants for five years but then they start losing their vigour. Probably because they become potbound.
                         
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